BI 2020 Conference: changing education

15 October 2014

BI’s innovative education project, BI 2020, held a conference this week where MOOCs and the extinction of physical classrooms were the talking point.

With Germany being the hot topic of the month, free education has been on the tip of the world’s tongue lately. It’s no surprise, then, that massive open online courses (MOOCs) have come back into the limelight after the last big appearance in 2012.

Talking at the BI 2020 conference, Dr. Christian M. Stracke suggested that methods of learning should be versatile and push the boundaries, saying:

- Any physical institution of education may one day disappear. So forget your knowledge. Instead, up your competence in unknown situations.

Stracke’s point served as a reminder that even educational systems that have so far survived the test of time aren’t safeguarded against innovation: nor should they be and BI doesn’t intend to fall behind. Rather, it aims to encourage and intitiate positive changes in the way it teaches and interacts with its students, which is where BI 2020 comes in.

Project BI 2020

The aim of the project is to enable BI to work towards being one of the most innovative and preferred provider of education. Both faculty and staff are encouraged to apply for funding each year for their creative uses of technology for unique and improved methods of teaching. This year’s funding budget allocation for the project is 3 MNOK, creating opportunities for faculty and students alike.

The BI 2020 conference was host to key players in the field of innovative education, including BI Associate Professor Njål Foldnes, a pioneer in the flipped classroom, Dr. Alan Bruce, CEO of Universal Learning Systems and Dr. Christian M. Stracke, an internationally recognised expert on creative learning models.